Wesley Bell drops out of race against Josh Hawley to challenge Cori Bush in Dem primary

Wesley Bell, the St. Louis County prosecutor who four months ago launched an effort to oust Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, ended his Senate bid on Monday in favor of a different race — a primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat.

With his announcement, Bell is ending a Senate campaign where he polled competitively in the primary, but where any Democratic nominee will face a long-shot campaign against Hawley in a state that has increasingly voted for conservative candidates.

“Over the last several weeks, as I’ve campaigned around the state, I’ve heard one refrain from Democrats above all else: yes, we need you in Washington, but St. Louis needs you in the House of Representatives,” Bell said in a press release.

Instead, Bell is opting for a different challenge — taking on a member of the “Squad,” a group of progressive Democrats in the House who have often tried to push the Democratic Party’s policy positions farther to the left.

Bush was first elected to the House in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd sparked protests across the country. She upset 10-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay, winning by less than 1 percentage point. She went onto win the general election that and reelection in 2022 by huge margins in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.

Bush was a St. Louis activist before being elected to Congress and has called herself a “politivist” — a combination of politician and activist — as she’s sought to bring change to Congress. But her positions have sometimes drawn criticism, particularly as she’s called to defund the police, a phrase Republicans have repeatedly used against Democrats. President Joe Biden has repeatedly distanced himself from the phrase.

Last week, Bush was one of just 10 votes against a House resolution that said the House stood with Israel and reaffirmed its right to self defense. She also voted against a bipartisan infrastructure bill as she pushed for a more progressive bill, called “Build Back Better.” Congress eventually passed a watered-down version of the Build Back Better bill that focused on climate initiatives.

State Sen. Steve Roberts ran against Bush in the Democratic primary in 2022, but only won about 27% of the vote compared to Bush’s 69.5%.

Bell, too, upset a longtime Democratic politician to hold his current role. He was elected St. Louis County Prosecutor in 2018, capping a landslide upset against a longtime Democratic prosecutor criticized for failing to charge a police officer who killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown in 2014. Brown’s killing sparked weeks of protest in Ferguson and was part of the larger Black Lives Matter movement.

Bush was one of the leaders of the protests that followed Brown’s death. The race between Bush and Bell, sets up a rare contest between two post-Ferguson reformers.

Bell launched his campaign for Senate in June with a video that focused heavily on Hawley, who is one of the most polarizing figures in national politics.

While Bell was polling competitively with Lucas Kunce, a lawyer and Marine veteran who lost the 2022 Democratic primary, he struggled to keep up with Kunce financially. As of September 30, Kunce had more than $1.7 million in his campaign account while Bell had just $88,011.

Bell will still have to raise money against Bush — who has a national donor base because of her prominence in Congress. Already, Bush has raised more than $428,000, but she only has $19,501 on hand.